The Vice President of IMANI Africa, Mr. Bright Simons, has described the ‘Tap and Go’ project by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as an enterprise that compromises public good outcomes expected from the technology and digitalization drive in Africa.
He indicated that the project is a private gain enterprise funded from the public coffers. He specified that the project was presented to the Ghanaian populace as a public enterprise aimed at transforming the transport sector for national benefit while it aims at profiting private entities involved in the project.
“We appreciate the fact that senior politicians in Ghana are pro-digital. That notwithstanding we have a problem with the design of some of these initiatives…I call it State Enchantment and ‘Tap and Go’ is a very good example, unfortunately, of the fears we have around the State Enchantment Phenomenon”.
Mr. Bright Simons
Moreover, Mr. Bright Simons revealed that the ‘Tap and Go’ project is not a Ghana Private Roads and Transport Union (GPRTU) initiative as the government had initially stated. He stressed that the GPRTU has no stake in the project because the union has its digital platform which functions similarly to the ‘Tap and Go’.
The Vice President of IMANI Africa also disclosed that the project is a private initiative by a group of three companies, one of which is being investigated for sole sourcing projects from the government regarding the Agenda 111 initiative. He indicated the government was wrong to present the ‘Tap and Go’ initiative as a state-owned project rather than a private enterprise in its initial stage.
Accordingly, he stated that even if the government’s collaboration with these private companies is under the initiative of Private Sector Enablement, there must be a leveled playing ground for all private companies to benefit. He argued that giving privileged access to private companies due to personal relationships the owners may have with people in the government is unlawful.
Mr. Bright Simons further argued that the government has to be more transparent about projects of this nature. He stressed that the government must make it known publicly why some companies are given the kind of privilege they relish.
The Need For Better Security Regulations
Accordingly, Mr. Bright Simons revealed that there were security breaches discovered when security researchers scrutinized the ‘Tap and Go’ application. He stressed the need for regulatory institutions to have the autonomy in providing the needed guidelines to control access to information databases of Ghanaians.
“For instance, if you put your mobile phone number into the app, it automatically pulls up your Ghana Card information. That means that it has special access to Ghana Card information and these are protected databases and the rest of it. On what basis were these companies granted this level of privilege?”
Mr. Bright Simons
Moreover, the Vice President of IMANI Africa advised the government to be careful in its support for some companies as other competing companies may be kicked out of business. He emphasized that private company owners may take advantage of private-state collaboration and use the government’s support to profit from these projects if the proper channel of support is not established.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia launched the ‘Tap and Go’ digital initiative for the transport sector to enable passengers to purchase bus tickets, and book their trips ahead of time in the comfort of their homes.
According to the Vice President, the ‘Tap and Go’ card will have additional features of both physical and virtual versions, to ensure comfort of use. With the virtual card, customers can download the ‘Tap and Go’ app on their mobile phones, and choose a virtual card option, which will enable them to make payments through their mobile phones, if they don’t wish to use the card.
The Vice President also disclosed that other transport companies and unions like the State Transport Company (STC) and the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) commercial vehicles, ‘trotro’, will be integrated into the Tap and Go scheme soon.
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